Richard Lackman

Biography of Richard Lackman

I have worked for the past 30 years as an orthopaedic cancer surgeon and find that reading and writing poety in a good release and a good way to relax. I most enjoy poems with set rhythm and rhyme although I like a lot of free verse as well.

Richard Lackman Poems

A Poet's Shame
I set out to write this poem and I had a simple plan.
I'd avoid all things prosaic and I'd do the best I can
To optimize the content and the grammar and the rhyme
And of course I'd tell a story that would echo for all time

My First Kiss
I still remember my first kiss though fourty years have passed
The beauty of the moment and the thrill will ever last
Etched into my memory as words into a stone
Clearer than the clearest night that I have ever known

Children Walking In The Rain
When I scurry about on a rainy day
Acting annoyed at the rain
I sometimes remember a time far away
When I viewed raindrops with no disdain

Goodbye My Love - A Smoker's Lament
I learned today that I am almost dead
Although I've felt but just a little pain
The cancer in my lung went to my head
And life for me will never be the same

Old Man
As I go through life I understand
The changes that my body must endure
And as for me I've learned how to withstand
My aging as I pass through every door

October Leaves
As I look out upon October leaves
And brown grass weathered by the Autumn sun
I see the shafts of light a bare branch cleaves
And so much of creation now undone

April
Walking by a meadow I see April in full bloom
Each blade of grass come back again from winter's frosty tomb
Each tree and shrub and hedge are wearing green to mark the time
Each vine is ready to repeat its daring upward climb

What Was Richard Corey Thinking
Now at the age of sixty, I am quite prepared to die
I am neither old nor sickly but have no reason to try
To add another decade for no purpose or no gain
As I've had all the experiences I wanted to attain

Lightning And Thunder
When I was just a little child playing in my room
I saw the sudden lightning strike and heard the thunder boom
I'd run out to the front porch to sit and watch the show
Awed by Mother Nature and the power that would go

A Solitary Life
How is it at the age of sixty I am still alone
Each day walking, eating, sleeping always on my own
How did I miss the partnership that most of us attain
My only walking partner seems to be my walking cane

The Goodness Of The Ocean
What is it about a pond or lake or ocean
That attracts us so and sets in motion
Feelings of serenity and peace
So that common worries seem to cease

Almost Cancer
Today I met a man who thought that he was truly dying
This brush with his mortality had left him lost and crying
He never really understood how fragile life can be
And now his hopes and desperation focused square on me

A Friend Named Mike
I thought again today about a friend from long ago
He was a lovely person and at times I miss him so
Mike Fallon was his name and him I never will forget
His young life ended suddenly, for me with much regret